Starting Over
by monkeyface52
Summary: The Strange Days may be over, but the drama has just begun as the science club starts college. Corrine/Vaughn - WHOLE STORY IS BEING REPOSTED.
1. Catching Up

**A/N: So, I posted this a year ago and to this day it is still my favorite fic. But, being my first fic, I posted it all at once! I finally decided to actually break it apart in chapters so it is easier to read. Also, I'm taking the time to fix little mistakes that drive me crazy every time I read it. Hope you like it - even if it isn't your first time reading it!**

**Oh, and a warning - this Corrine/Vaughn pairing isn't the most popular. What makes it worse is that Marshall is the bad guy. So, for all you Carshall fans, please don't hate me! I love Marshall and was just going for something a little different here.**

_**One - Catching Up**_

Corrine scanned the crowded coffee shop until she caught a glimpse of the all too familiar flaming red hair. Ducking between tables, she silently approached her friend and covered her eyes with her hands, smiling from ear to ear.

"Guess who?"

Josie jumped up and squealed, wrapping her arms around Corrine. "Ahh! I can't believe you're here!" she exclaimed. After more hugs and excited chatter, Josie followed Corrine to the counter where they both ordered grande lattes – Josie's vanilla and Corrine's hazelnut. Then they made their way to a table in the back.

"Wow!" Corrine said, looking at Josie with a smile. "It feels like it's been forever."

"Don't blame me," Josie said with a smirk, talking a sip of her coffee. "You're the one who had to go gallivanting off in Europe after I'd been gone for a year."

Corrine rolled her eyes. "Here we go again. This is where I remind you that it's not my fault you got stuck in another dimension."

"I'm just giving you a hard time. Seriously, though, thanks for all the e-mails. Living vicariously through your travels was the highlight of my summer."

"Summer school that bad?"

"Well, I made up an entire year in three months. You tell me."

Corrine just laughed as she took a drink of her coffee. "How is it being back with your mom?"

This time it was Josie who rolled her eyes. "It was great at first. She'd been so worried about me, it was like she didn't want to let me out of her sight. Then, well, she started dating someone…" Josie trailed off, her eyes fixed on her paper cup.

Corrine leaned forward. "And? Do you like him? Are they serious?"

Josie shook her head. "You aren't going to believe me when I tell you. I still have a hard time believing it and they've been together since July." Josie took a deep breath, then shook her head again.

"What? Come on, tell me! They must be serious if you're having such a hard time. Do you not like him?"

Josie mumbled something under her breath.

"What?" Corrine asked. "Did you say 'sore knees'?"

"It's Z," Josie grimaced.

Corrine couldn't hide her shock. "Z? As in Professor Z? Your mom is dating Professor Z?"

Josie nodded her head with a frown. "It's so weird! He's like my friend. And she's, like, ten years older than him."

"How did it happen?" Corrine asked, her brown eyes still wide.

"She kept coming to check on my at school, you know, making sure I didn't disappear again. They started talking. Then they talked more. Then they started hanging out when I wasn't there…" Josie trailed off again as she just shrugged her shoulders.

"Wow. That's…" but Corrine didn't know what to say. Her favorite teacher? Dating her mom? That was just weird.

"Let's talk about something else," Josie quickly said, straightening up and smiling. "You just spent the last three months traveling around one of the most romantic places in the world with Marshall! How are things with you two?"

Corrine smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Great! Things are great! Everything is great!" she said with forced enthusiasm.

"Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh what?"

"You said great three times. That means you're lying."

Corrine opened her mouth to protest, but the knowing look in Josie's eyes told her it was no use. "Not so great," she sighed. "It's just…I don't know. I've known Marshall for so long and I really like him. And I think he likes me."

"What do you mean think? He went to Europe with you!"

"I know," Corrine nodded, looking down and fidgeting with the plastic lid on her coffee cup. "When he came back for graduation – I wish you could have seen how he looked at me. It just made me feel so wonderful! And then he said he was going to come with me. It was like a dream come true. But then things just got -."

"What? Intense? Romantic?"

"No. They just got…normal. It's like Marshall can't decide if he wants me to be his friend or his girlfriend. Sometimes I think he just wants all the perks of having of having a girlfriend without having to make a commitment. I'm just so sick of waiting for him to make up his mind." Josie reached over and patted her friend's hand, Corrine finally looking up and smiling again. "But enough about me and Marshall. What about you and Vaughn? Did you guys pick up where you left off?"

Josie chuckled. "Not exactly. Vaughn and I are just going to be friends."

"What happened?"

"Well, it was like the mystery of figuring out what was happening at school drew us together. Now that there's no mystery, well, there isn't really any chemistry between us."

"Wait – so nothing weird has been happening at school anymore?"

Josie shook her head. "Nothing. Lucas gave up looking for my clone. It's like everything is just so – regular. And _that_ feels strange." They both laughed at that, then Josie gave Corrine a sly smile. "That's me and Vaughn. What about you and Vaughn?"

Corrine's didn't see that one coming, her breath catching in her throat. "What do you mean?" she asked, a nervous smile crossing her lips.

"I may have been in another dimension, but I don't live on another planet. Everyone told me about how you two were inseparable last year. What's going on with the two of you?"

"Nothing, Josie." The look in her friend's eyes told Corrine she didn't believe her. And, if she was totally honest, she didn't entirely believe herself.

**End Note: I'd love reviews!**


	2. Moving In

_**Two - Moving In**_

"Thanks, Vaughn, for helping me move my stuff. I can't believe you and Lucas found this great apartment!" Marshall huffed as he and Vaughn lugged a mattress up three flights of stairs to the two bedroom apartment he and Lucas had begun renting half way through the summer.

"No problem. With you here, rent will be lighter," Vaughn groaned as he shifted the heavy mattress.

"How was your summer? Was it good to have your mom back?"

"Incredible," Vaughn said with a smile. "She's great. It's so cool having a real family again." They reached the apartment and shoved the mattress onto the floor of the first bedroom, which Marshall would be sharing with Lucas. Marshall fell back on it and closed his eyes while Vaughn leaned against the door and crossed his muscular arms.

"So, how are things with you and Josie?" Marshall asked, still panting from their climb.

Vaughn shrugged. "We're just friends. It was mutual." Vaughn shifted uncomfortably as he thought about the question that had been plaguing his mind since he started helping Marshall move that morning. "What about you and Corrine? I mean, you guys spent the whole summer together."

Marshall smiled. "Corrine's cool. We had a lot of fun." Vaughn waited for more, but nothing came. He didn't want to seem too interested so he didn't press him

"Well, I got some stuff to do. See you later," Vaughn told him as he left and went to his own room. Checking once to make sure Marshall wasn't following, he shut the door behind him and sat his computer. Opening his e-mail, he went to his saved messages and opened up one from the tenth of June. It read:

_Vaughn,_

_Bon Jour from Paris! I can't believe I'm here! The city is so much more beautiful and amazing than I ever could have imagined. My first stop was a café named Sabrina's. Have you ever seen the old movie with Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart? It's so romantic. Anyways, she tells him on your first day in Paris you have to have rain. And you can't carry an umbrella. That's when Paris smells its sweetest. It wasn't raining that day, but there was a container at the door of the café where people have left their umbrellas, trying to be like the movie. It's just so sweet! I think this might be my favorite place so far! Of course, Marshall just complained the whole time that the food was too expensive. But even he couldn't ruin my good mood. I can't wait to hear how things went on your fishing trip!_

_Love, Corrine._

Vaughn smiled as he read the e-mail he knew by heart. Corrine and he wrote almost every day while she was away. Vaughn found himself closing his eyes, picturing being there with her. Suddenly, a knock on his door snapped him back to reality.

"Come in," he called without thinking. When Marshall opened the door, Vaughn felt his face go red as he scrambled to close his e-mail.

Marshall smiled. "Uh-oh, Vaughn. We aren't looking at anything we shouldn't, are we?" he asked with laugh.

Vaughn forced himself to laugh, too, trying not to let guilt cover his face. "What's up?"

"Lucas just called and is going to bring home a pizza. He wants to know if you want to go in on it."

"Sure," Vaughn said, his eyes flitting between Marshall and the computer screen.

Instead of leaving, Marshall opened the door all the way. "Listen, there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about," Marshall said, his face growing serious.

Vaughn felt his heart speed up but tried to keep his face calm. "Sure, go ahead."

"Well, I know that this last year while I was gone you and Corrine spent a lot of time together." Vaughn felt his heart drop. What did Marshall know? Vaughn hadn't told anyone about what he'd been feeling – not even Lucas, who'd become a really good friend over the summer. Of course, he was also Marshall's best friend, so that didn't help any.

"Well, yeah, but --" Marshall held up his hand and Vaughn fell silent.

"Whenever I'd talk to her, she seemed so distant, so far away. And Lucas wouldn't tell me anything. So, you can imagine what I was thinking." Marshall laughed and Vaughn forced a smile. "Anyway, I realize now I was just being a jealous idiot. I know you guys are just good friends. I didn't need to be worried about anything."

"Right, of course," Vaughn said, feeling both relieved and sad. Of course they were just good friends. It had never been anything more. But he still hated being reminded of that.

"And, you know, you're my friend so it's not like you would do that kind of thing."

"Right," Vaughn nodded, feeling like he'd just been punched in the gut.

"I just wanted to say thanks. I know last year was really hard for both of you with Josie missing and all. It's nice to know Corrine didn't need to go through it alone." Marshall smiled and stood up. Vaughn stood up too.

"Well, it's great you two had this summer to spend together," Vaughn forced himself to say.

"Europe's great. You should go sometime," Marshall said as he left the room. Vaughn closed the door behind him and looked back at the computer. Yeah, it seemed pretty great.


	3. Old Friends

_**Three – Old Friends**_

Corrine walked around Black Hole High and smiled to herself. It felt like an eternity ago that they were getting sucked down wormholes, watching physics problems come to life, and trying to figure out what kept making all the weird things happen. Was that part of her life really over? Sure, it had been scary. But it had also been fun.

As she reached the back of the school, she glanced over the hill and saw the top of the Pearson family mansion. With a sigh, she remembered when she and Vaughn were stuck together, running through secret passages in his home, finally emerging in the field that separated his house from the school. They'd barely been friends before that but, even after they un-stuck, it was like something had bonded between them.

Behind her a twig snapped as she turned to see the object of her thoughts.

"Vaughn?" she exclaimed. He looked up, startled to hear his name, then broke into a smile as he rushed over and gave her a hug.

"Corrine! I'm so glad to see you!" he said as he held her tight. Corrine tried not to think about how good he smelled. They pulled back and smiled into each other's faces.

"What are you doing around here? I heard you moved out," she said, her heart beating fast. What was wrong with her?

"Yeah. I was helping Marshall move all day yesterday, so I told my parents I'd come by for lunch."

"Marshall moved?" she asked, the smile falling from her face.

"He didn't tell you?"

"He doesn't tell me much," she mumbled, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, he moved in with me and Lucas."

Corrine's eyes opened wide. "Y-You guys are living together?"

"Is that okay?" he asked with a smirk. Corrine smiled, but she felt really uncomfortable, though she didn't know why. After all, she and Vaughn were just friends. And apparently, so were she and Marshall.

"No, that's great. It's just, you know, I didn't know you and Marshall were that close."

"Well, I mean, Lucas and I were already there and he and Marshall are best friends, so whatever."

"That's cool," she said, still thinking it was anything but. Vaughn and Marshall were as different as night and day. Vaughn looked over her shoulder at his parents' house. "Oh, I should probably let you go. I'm sure your parents are waiting."

"Do you want to come?"

Corrine felt her face heat at the invite. "Oh, I shouldn't. I mean, it's your time with your family."

Vaughn smiled that adorable grin of his. "I spent all summer with them. Besides, I'm sure they'd love to hear some things from you first hand. I think they got a little sick of me telling them all your adventures."

Corrine laughed. "If you're sure they wouldn't mind."

"I'm sure." He held out his elbow for her to take his arm and she laughed again, trying to ignore they way her stomach flipped when she touched him.

Lunch was great. Corrine always thought Vaughn's dad was scary – especially when they thought he was at fault for all the weird things that were going on at the school. But he seemed to have changed now that he had his wife back. They laughed a lot, talking about Corrine's time in Europe and what they did as a family over the summer. In fact, they sat around and talked for so long that Corrine ended up staying through dinner, too.

When it was time to go, Vaughn walked her back across the field to the school where both of them had sentimentally parked.

"So, where are you staying right now?" he asked as their feet crunched in the gravel.

"I'm staying with Josie and her mom. Josie and I are looking for an apartment near the college, so --"

"You could come live with us!" Vaughn blurted out. Corrine looked up at him, confused. "I mean, there's an apartment for rent right across the hall from us. The landlord's great. I'm sure we could get you in."

Corrine laughed at the thought of the five of them living so close together. "It's going to feel like high school all over again."

"That's not so bad. We had some good times," he said with a smile, stopping at their cars.

Corrine smiled too. "Yeah, we sure did." She glanced up at Vaughn, who was staring hard at her with his dark brown eyes. Warmth flooded her body and she felt suddenly dizzy.

"Well, what do you say?" he asked, his voice suddenly sounding deeper.

Corrine looked away, telling herself to stop acting so silly. "That would be cool. I'll talk to Josie about it," she said, a mix of emotion running through her mind.

"Great! I'll talk to Mr. Hunter tonight."

_Great_ Corrine thought to herself. _Great, great, great._


	4. Awkward Moments

_**Four – Awkward Moments**_

As Lucas and Vaughn struggled to assemble the girl's new futon, they heard laughter coming from the second bedroom.

"Glad someone is having fun," Lucas grumbled as he dropped yet another screw. Vaughn didn't trust himself to answer. They'd spent all day helping the girls get their new place set up and Marshall and Corrine seemed to be the only people having fun. Vaughn all too clearly remembered the conversation he'd accidentally eavesdropped on when he'd gotten back from his afternoon with Corrine.

"_Why didn't I tell you I moved? I didn't think I needed to run everything by you, Corrine," he'd heard Marshall yell into the phone. After a pause he said, "It isn't that big of a deal! This is so like you! Why do you feel like you have to micromanage my life?" Another pause and then, much softer, "Corrine, don't cry. I'm sorry I yelled. The last thing I want is to make you upset."_

Vaughn stopped listening after that.

The way they were acting today, you wouldn't be able to tell that they had a fight. Another burst of laughter and Vaughn paused to look at the closed bedroom door. What could they be doing in there?

"Did you know they didn't sleep together?" Lucas stated out of the blue, as if he could read Vaughn's mind.

"What?" he snapped, dropping the wrench he was holding. He scrambled to pick it up.

"Corrine and Marshall. That whole time they were in Europe, they stayed in hostels and slept in bunk beds, usually with two or three other people in the same room."

"Why would I care about that?" Vaughn said with a chuckled.

Lucas looked up at him and smiled. "I just thought you might want to know."

"Where's Josie?" Vaughn asked, desperate to change the subject.

"She's over at the college, enrolling in a couple of classes for the fall."

Vaughn just nodded and focused back on his work. After a moment, he asked, "Isn't about time you made your move, Lucas?"

This time, Lucas dropped his wrench in surprise. "What are you talking about?" he asked, not looking Vaughn in the eye.

"Come on, Lucas. I know I'm not as smart as you, but I'm not an idiot. I know you've been crushing on her for forever. I think it's time you stepped it up, talked to her about it."

"It's complicated," Lucas said, shaking his head.

"It's not that complicated. You're single. She's single. You risked your life to try and find her. You've already even kissed her."

"That was you in my body, remember?" Lucas corrected, referring to the science experiment on brain waves they were working on when the wormhole made it so they actually switched minds.

"Whatever. I just think it's time."

"Don't you think it's kind of weird, though? I mean, you're my friend and all."

Vaughn put down his wrench and gave Lucas his full attention. "I am you're friend and I'm the one telling you to go ahead. If you didn't because of me, I'd feel awful."

Lucas looked at him and smile. "Maybe," he finally agreed.

"I've got my eye on you," Vaughn teased, shaking his finger at Lucas.

That night they had pizza in the girl's new place. Though they just moved in, their choices in furniture and decoration already made it look much nicer than the guys.

"I think we're going to have to hang out here all the time. It's better," Lucas commented around a mouthful of pepperoni.

"You just want to eat our food," Corrine laughed.

Lucas just shrugged as he grabbed another slice.

"Josie, did you get the classes you wanted?" Vaughn asked.

She shook her head. "Half the ones I wanted are full. What I really want is to take some time off after spending all summer in school, but my mom says she'll only pay my rent if I'm in classes and with the alternative being staying with her, well, let's just say it's a no brainer."

"It can't be that bad," Marshall tried to argue. "I mean, Z is great!"

"Yeah, as a teacher, not as your mom's boyfriend! I walked in on them making out on the couch the other day." Josie shuddered and they all laughed.

"Well, I can't wait to get started," Marshall said, rubbing his hands together. "I've got three chemistry classes. It's going to be awesome!"

"You are such a nerd," Corrine laughed, shaking her head.

"That's why you love me," Marshall teased, kissing her on the cheek. Vaughn chocked on the bite he was taking and began coughing hard. Lucas slapped him on the back.

"Are you okay?" Josie asked. Vaughn nodded, still coughing, as he reached for his soda and took a long drink.

"This is pretty great. No curfew, no one roaming the halls telling us we have to leave each other's rooms," Marshall said, winking at Corrine. Vaughn suddenly wanted this night to be over sooner rather than later.

"Speak for yourself. I've got an early class in the morning and I don't want to miss is," Lucas said, standing up and stretching.

"Me too," Corrine said, scrunching up her face

"Me three," Vaughn threw in.

Marshall pouted. "You guys are no fun! Our first night we get to do whatever we want and you want to go to bed?" Marshall complained, standing up and following Lucas to the door. Vaughn fell in line behind them just in time to hear Lucas whisper:

"You just spend three months getting to do whatever you want."

"Not everything I wanted," Marshall bit back. Vaughn couldn't help but smile.


End file.
